Godkillers
by Kyralih
Summary: Oneshot; inspired by a 'sailormoonheadcanons.' post - "Oftentimes the Senshi are referred to as gods. But that is only because no human language has a word for what they are really capable of. The closest is "god killers". They have, in the past, put down gods that turned on their people." Golden Kingdom AU; Endymion and his Shitennou fight false gods to save humanity!


Godkillers.

That's what they called us. Saviors of the western seas, heroes of the eastern skies; Champions of Men, but _Godkillers_ was the title that stuck the most. I didn't particularly care for it because the idea that the monsters we destroyed were anything more than nightmares made real prompted too many existential questions. We were more than prey. The human race was better than the sick roles these powerful creatures thrust upon us. They were not our creators and we are not beholden to them, and if we had to travel every inch of this world and slay each and every last one of them, I would see my people free of them and their perverse notions of the role of humanity.

"Endymion!" Kunzite called, and I followed the line of his arm to see the riders in the distance, horse urged forward to meet us where we stood watch. The forest stretched away below our vantage point, green foliage and grass disturbed by the breeze, beautiful and cold. The lack of fauna and the tingling in the air were the only tell that something foul lurked here. With luck, Nephrite brought with him information on the danger we faced.

As the pair of them approached, neither horse slowing as they climbed the rocky slope, Jadeite moved in closer, placing himself between the riders and me, not to break my line of sight, but close enough to put the butt of his spear to the ground to set a clear boundary between us. It was unnecessary - Nephrite had been with me for years and he had my complete trust - but Jadeite had not been with us long enough yet to bend the habits of his homeland far to the south.

Nephrite pulled his horse to stop and dismounted in one fluid motion, his movement so second-nature to the animal he rode that it reached its muzzle out for a pat without prompting and smoothly back-stepped to give Nephrite more room. The tall man bowed - unnecessary to me, but perhaps necessary for his new companion. The other young man - blonde, like Jadeite, though naturally so - had long hair held back with intricate braid-work. When he dismounted it was clear that he was comfortable with horses, but not nearly so much as Nephrite. He wore wool clothes with leather accessories, near to what they had purchased upon reaching the colder northern climes but the attire fit more naturally on him, the fabrics worn with age but clearly kept well. He wore a cloak, and etched into the leather armor across his heart was a symbol. He brushed his cloak across one shoulder and mimicked Nephrite's bow.

"He is from the port village to the west," Nephrite introduced. Viking, then. "Noble family, insisted on coming with me to share the news himself." He straightened, and as I looked to the visitor, Nephrite looked to Kunzite, but stayed where he was. He honored guests.

The blond young man straightened, "I am -"

"Do not use your given name," Kunzite interrupted, and the visitor looked to him as though struck.

"Names have power," I explained, recapturing his attention. "In our line of work, we would limit the power any creature has over us and those who fall into our company. You may call me Endymion. He is Kunzite," I motioned to the tall and imposing man to my right, his hair prematurely silvered, his body prematurely aged; the creature that had stolen away his youth was one of the first I had ever fought. He had chosen the name Kunzite after a gemstone mined in his home region that was said to ward off evil, taking its name in our cause in an effort to do the same the world over. He was my first companion and most trusted.. "He is Jadeite," I nodded towards the fierce looking warrior with his spear in the space between us; he had chosen his name to keep in the spirit of the convention Kunzite had started and Nephrite had continued, choosing a stone mined in his homeland said to protect the wearer from bad energy. The 'god' they had killed to free his people had been obsessed with gold and treasures, and Jadeite had been dyed and painted to resemble that prized possession before his freedom had been sacrificed to serve the creature in its stone palace. All that remained of that time was the gold of his hair, a curse that seemed to have continued beyond the death of his former master. Of those who traveled with him, Jadeite may be the newest, but already he had made a name for himself in being as ruthless towards their enemies as he was loyal towards me. "And you have already met Nephrite," I said, and the brunet beside our visitor looked down towards him with a nod. While others before him had come and gone, Nephrite had stayed in our company - mine and Kunzite's - far beyond what was considered necessary after having helped save his community from an evil mountain spirit. He swore to remain in our company and fight by my side until death takes him or we are free. Hopeful and passionate, Nephrite chose to take his name from a regional stone said to turn negative energy to positive, and his attitudes have certainly served to lighten the oftentimes dour mood surrounding their campaign. "You need a second name while in our company; what is that symbol on your breast?"

The visitor touched the fingers of his right hand to the etching in his leather armor without looking at it, and replied, "Vegvisir. It is protection against getting lost - a compass to guide the way."

"As you shall be our compass," I replied, nodding to designate that as the title we would use for him. "Vegvisir, tell us of the creature that plagues your people, and we will hunt it and rid you of its oppressive shadow."

The young man straightened, his cloak falling back over his shoulders as his ice-blue eyes met mine. "Godkillers, we have heard of your exploits in our travels and welcome your arrival here. There are many monstrous beings that reside in this land and we deal with them as is necessary, but the threat that has faced us for the past year has been greater than any slow-witted Troll or mischievous Alva: it is the Nattmara, a creature that turns into sand to slip into bedchambers during the night to suffocate us in our sleep if we do not follow the instructions given to us in our dreams. We have tried to trick it with half-truths, but it will not accept any answer but a concrete promise. We have tried to outsmart it by sleeping in rooms without windows, but it still finds a way in. We have resisted sleep to hold it at bay, but the moment we nod off she is there to punish us for our attempts. Some have tried to escape her, sailing away to other cities, but their families are punished in their stead. Some have even returned, saying she followed them over the raging seas, plaguing them even when they are not present.

"Many of my people have given in to her to survive. They send her merchant wares, livestock, precious metals - whatever she asks for. We have kept watch over the offerings in an attempt to see her and fight her in the waking world, but when the hour comes upon us, the very trees thrash and bend to her will, flailing just as a person would under her attack, and then we immediately fell asleep. We lose hope and, worse still, some have begun to embrace her rather than continue to see her as the monster that she is."

"Her?" Jadeite repeated, the depth to his voice menacing. It had been a female-presenting monster who had enslaved his people.

Vegvisir nodded, "The Nattmara is our dreams is a skinny young woman, dressed in a nightgown, with pale skin and long black hair and nails. Her voice rasps, and in these dreams she is everywhere at once -" He paused, biting off the rest of his sentence, his body stiff as he repressed a response grown in fear. He was capable. "Godkillers, will you help us?"

He had not needed to ask. "We will."

We moved quickly; however Nephrite had introduced himself in the port city had gotten Vegvisir's attention, so others besides would know, too, that they were here and what they were about. If this spirit plagued their dreams, we had to get to it before the regular sleeping hours or we would be found out. We would have to move faster, still, in case any who supported this Nattmara attempted to sleep early to warn her about our arrival.

Vegvisir led us to where offerings were instructed to be left and, sure enough, a pile of metallic goods was in place, alongside two staked pigs and a barrel of hay. The trees surrounding the clearing - closer to the mountains than the sea - were twisted and broken, their branches naked and needles strewn about their trunks. We set to work immediately. Kunzite and Nephrite knew what to look for: this was not their first anonymous offering site. They checked the nature surrounding the site for signs of life: oftentimes the malicious spirits corporeal forms were hidden where they could watch their hoard grow and see the fear in the faces of those who offered up pieces of their livelihoods to win favor - or, in this case, to stave off being murdered in their sleep. I watched and waited and extended myself, kneeling down to touch the earth with my hands and sense the world around me. I could feel the souls of my companions, could close my eyes and almost see them through the trees. I could sense the sows, the rodents moving through the grass to the east, the birds above us in the trees to the west - the forest animals tended to stay well away from this place. I concentrated, searching for the source of that ill feeling in the air - and instead felt the animals to the north bolting away from a line that would intersect with us.

"Something's coming!" I warned, coming to my feet quickly and wheeled to face north, pushing Vegvisir back with my left hand. Kunzite, Nephrite and Jadeite were with me scant seconds later, and I touched each in turn, sharing with them the golden glow that had taken over my hand in preparation for the battle. The trees around us started to writhe, twisting and jerking, their limbs reaching to strike at us, but each blow was dodged, each attack made against us missed its mark. That was part of the power I had been blessed with - these evil creatures could not touch me through living things under their possession, and, so long as I concentrated on keeping that energy flowing outward, neither could they touch my companions. Eventually this storm would pass when the evil spirit realized it was ineffective. Then it would show itself, and then the fight would begin.

Kunzite always seemed to anticipate that part better than anyone else.

He moved like lightning, striking with his curved blade just as the trees slowed their shaking and a ghostly form began to take shape, his sword cutting through the air where the spirit had started to appear. It moved immediately, sliding from west to east, evading Jadeite's spear only to meet with Nephrite's blade. It spun and I watched it, concentrating on keeping my energy flowing through my companions.

"_**SLEEP!**_" it rasped, its voice laced with power carrying with it a command that most would have found completely irresistible. Jadeite wavered on his feet and I flung my hand out towards him, doubling efforts to keep his head clear and out of her control. She hissed, ducking and dodging away from Nephrite, hollow gaze falling on me for a split second before turning her gaze aside. Did she know I could not be affected? "_**CHILD OF THE SEA!**_" she bellowed, the weight of her efforts focused solely on our compass. I turned as much as I could to try to spot him, my hands held out towards my friends to keep them immune to her effects that they could still fight her. The blond warrior stood stock-still, his axe held in his hands as though paused in the action of throwing, "_**OBEY ME! KILL THEM, ELSE YOUR MOTHER WILL SHARE THE FATE OF YOUR FATHER!**_"

Ice blue eyes hesitated, slowly shifting towards me.

The Nattmara cackled and turned back, leering at my companions before launching herself at them, long black nails attempting to gouge and rend. "_**SLEEP!**_" she commanded, even as she pressed against Kunzite's face and launched from him towards Jadeite, wrapping her legs around his waist and attempting to drive him down. I had to redouble my efforts yet again to keep her commands from affecting them - Nephrite had faltered, Kunzite bled - having exposed blood around these things was never good. If I could touch him I could heal him -

"Don't do it!" Nephrite yelled past him, and I turned to see Vegvisir slowly walking towards me, both hands on his axe now. I twisted, reached out for him - I was a fool, I should have made _sure_ I had connected with him when I pushed him back. If I could give him my power, too, he could be free of her - but would he be?! Did he trust that we could actually kill her, even when the fight was going this way?!

"_**SLEEP!**_" it rasped again, and I felt weak in my knees in the effort it took to hold her power from them. "_**KILL HIM, CHILD OF THE SEA! DO NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF MORE OF YOUR PEOPLE!**_"

I had to choose. Kunzite wiped blood from his eyes, one hand covering the split flesh of his face in an attempt to block passage into his body, the other hand curling around his blade as though to attack again. The Nattmara wrestled with Jadeite, but her face smiled cruelly, her body disintegrating from the bottom up into sand. Vegvisir had a ranged weapon - if he chose to attack he would reach me faster than I could him. He would make his own choice. I kept one hand towards Nephrite and Jadeite and rushed to Kunzite's aide, left hand reaching for his forehead as sand blasted us - I made contact and threw more energy at it to close the opening the Nattmara's nails had created.

"VEGVISIR!" Nephrite yelled in warning - he held his sword as though preparing to throw it at their local guide. I turned just in time to see the blond rear back and throw his axe over his head towards me, making his choice. Kunzite knocked me to the ground, falling on top of me -

And the Nattmara screamed.

The axe had landed in its chest, just as the sand had started to reform between us and Jadeite. It was pinned to one of the crooked trees it had created, dark ichor turning the nightgown it wore dark and sticky. It clawed at its own chest to be free, but before it made it too far Jadeite was on it, stabbing out with his spear to further pin her in place. Kunzite rolled away, and Nephrite was suddenly there, reaching down to propel me back to my feet. Kunzite's sword was placed in my hand as I strode towards the pinned monster. I swung and stuck the sword's tip into the tree beside her neck and tilted it, preparing to slice off its head - the first step towards ensuring it stayed dead. I put the last of that golden power into the sword, resting my left hand on the blade to ensure it did not shake the way my knees were. "_Humans are not your servants,_" I said, starting to press the blade into its neck, "We are not prey!" I shouted, staring this creature of evil in the eye as I threw my weight against the sword until the entire length of the blade bit into the bark of the tree, a flash of gold blasting out with the final connection. It screamed, the sound quickly dying off. "Your time has ended."

Nephrite's hand on my shoulder guided my steps away from the creature, covertly acting in place of my strength. Kunzite removed the blade, and Jadeite pulled free his spear. All that was left of the Nattmara was a pile of dust, dust that Jadeite swept up into a cloth pouch and tied tightly to his belt.

"Well, that should do it," Nephrite declared, turning back towards their warrior guide. "Thank you for your assistance, Vegvisir -"

"And your faith," I added, nodding towards him. He could have easily thrown this fight.

He swallowed, nodded, and moved to pull his own axe from the tree, eyeing the bag of sand on Jadeite's belt. "She is dead?"

"Should be," Nephrite replied easily.

"Without a doubt," Kunzite corrected, wiping his blade on the fabric of his cloak, "Endymion's cleansing power is absolute. The Nattmara has ceased to exist. Your city is free again."

The man nodded his head, taking a deep breath.

"You should head back and tell your people," Nephrite continued, "There were many anxious faces that would benefit from the good news."

"The first night will be the hardest to get through," Jadeite commented, "But it will get easier with time."

"Be well, Vegvisir," I said, offering my hand and arm as was customary here.

He stepped forward and took my offered forearm, clasping it as I clasped his. "I will do that. All will learn what happened here today - from this country and throughout the world on ships that may once again sail free, but I would have you return with me. Let us shelter you for the night - for as long as you need. You are welcome in my halls for however long you wish to be. But after that, when you leave to defeat some other evil in this world, allow me to accompany you. My axe and sword will serve your cause, that the hope you spread would move farther and wider than ever before."

And so Zoisite joined us, his name in honor of the gem found in the mountains of his homeland that was often made into jewelry. It was said to help alleviate the grief and despair, and that aligned with what the young Norseman wanted.

Words of our deeds did spread, and through that fame we were able to help countless others - by my twentieth summer we had bagged and burned so many of these false gods I had lost count. The world was becoming a far safer place, and there was talk of countries uniting under one flag, so long as we were there to see the alliance through. I took on the honorary title of Prince, and while our task was incomplete, I had faith that with my odd gift and the strength of my companions, we could free our people.

Just when things were looking up, though, rumors met _us_ about other such "Godkillers" - young women who fell from the stars to defeat our oppressors, their rumored powers and abilities placing them solidly out of the category of 'human'. With the ability to appear and disappear quickly, mounting ships that flew into the skies themselves, there was little we could do to plan a counter strategy for the day they would strike. It was then that we decided to push the notion of my new Royal status, making me into a target too tantalizing to ignore; if they were defeating creatures the world over, they no doubt intended to replace them as the "rulers" of that region, and to do that most effectively they would need to face down the human representatives of power: me. My golden energy would keep me safe from any attempts at possession, and when they finally showed themselves to us, we could figure out a way to kill them, too.

Earth would be safe, whether they spied on us from their home on the moon or not. Whether their powers could freeze water out of the very air we breathed, call flames that could consume anything they touched, call storms out of nowhere and command lightning itself, or create flashes so bright it blinded and seared, I will fight them, and I will win. My people deserved peace. We were not prey, and I will not stand by and be forced into another perverse role.

We are the Godkillers, and the fate of these false gods would be no different from the rest.


End file.
